Death Note: Rebirth
by DNREBIRTH
Summary: Light Yagami is dead, and the reign of Kira died with him. Six years after the Kira investigation, American college student and former Kira supporter Elliot Vincent accidentally kills his roommate with a Death Note he found in the park. To make amends for what he did he sets out with this new found power to finally finish what Kira started.


CHAPTER 1

AWAKENING

Why do bad things happen to good people? I've often found my thoughts drifting back to this question as I work on my essays in the park. It's nice and quiet here, so my mind can't help but wonder. My name is Elliot Vincent, I'm 23 years old and currently attending college in Denver, Colorado. I can't be bothered to remember the name, it's not like I cared that much anyway, I only chose it because they gave me the best scholarship. I'm currently studying Law in the hopes that I can become a detective one day, it seemed like a natural fit given how observant I am and the fact that people keep saying I should. I never had the drive to really commit to it. That all changed twelve years ago, that's when it happened, that's when Kira showed up.

I'd say those six years were the best time of my life. Just knowing that there was finally someone out there who was making a difference was awe-inspiring. It showed me that one man truly can change the world. Two days after his debut I decided to fully commit to becoming a detective and doing anything I could to help people. And when that bastard L showed up, that just made it better. Reading about their game of cat and mouse online was so interesting, even if it was happening on the other side of the world. Slowly people started to see Kira the same way I did, as our savior. Hell, there's a religion that worships him as a god now. Things were going great, crime fell by 70% and most of the world began to accept his judgment. We were on the brink of finally entering a new age, Kira's age. And then, when we were on the doorstep of greatness, suddenly, nothing. He just disappeared one day without a trace.

Slowly things went back to the way they were, crime rates rose and people jumped onto the next fad as if nothing had ever happened. There are a lot of 'true believers' out there who still believe in Kira, even after all this time. Even after all this time they still tell themselves he's just resting or something and someday he'll return. But not me, I accepted the truth a long time ago, Kira abandoned us. I don't know what happened or why but it's clear to me that Kira's gone, and he's not coming back. I sit back in my chair and sigh, it always makes me frustrated whenever I think about it. He was so close to changing the world and then he just stopped out of nowhere? It doesn't make sense. Even if you do consider that L may have finally beat him it doesn't change the fact that we were so close to perfection only to have it ripped away from us.

I look down at my laptop and sigh. I'm not getting anywhere on this essay. I close my laptop and put it back in its bag, no use forcing myself to work if it's not going to get me anywhere. As I stand up I feel a drop of rain hit me on the head, figures, it's been cloudy all day.

"I better get back before I get soaked," I say aloud to myself. I've never had many friends, so I've developed a bit of a habit of talking to myself. I pick up my bag and just as I turn to leave I hear a small thud on the ground behind me. I turn around and see a small black book laying on the ground. I know that wasn't there a second ago, I look around for a moment to see if who dropped it, just as usual I'm the only one here. I walk over and pick up the book. I see the words _Death Note_ written on the front cover in a strange font. What the hell is this? I open the book and flip through the pages, they're all completely blank. I flip back to the first page and see more writing on the inside cover. _How to Use It_ is written in the same strange font, underneath seems to be a list of some sorts. _The human whose name is written in this note shall die_. I frown in confusion, why the hell would anyone waste their time making this thing? It's so… dumb. I hear a faint chuckle behind me and I turn to see who it is, again nobody. "Anyone there?" I shout out. "You dropped your notebook… thing!" Still no answer. I look back at the notebook once more. There seems to be a ton of these so-called rules littered on both inside covers. I shrug and put the notebook in my bag, it's not going to kill anyone if I check this out.

* * *

 _If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack._ I keep coming back to that rule. I've been scanning through this thing in my apartment for about an hour, it keeps getting more and more specific on how to properly use it. It also keeps going on about death gods and the proper etiquette of them killing people, a bit too edgy for my taste. But that rule, if not specified they'll die of a heart attack, it's the same as Kira's trademark method. Is it possible that he had one of these things? I shake my head and close the book, there's no way this thing is for real. It's not possible to kill people just by writing down their name, and everyone knows there's no such thing as death gods. I stand up and walk over to my bed, but I turn back to the notebook before I lay down. I sigh and walk back to my desk and grab a pen. Might as well try it out right? But, whose name should I write down? The door to my dorm opens and my roommate, Dan, walks in.

"Hey man," He says and walks up to me. "Whacha doing?"

"Checking out this weird notebook I found in the park," I say and hand the book to him.

"Death Note huh?" He says examining the cover. "What were you going to do with it?"

"Well, it says that if you write down someone's name they'll die, I was kind of thinking about trying it out."

"Dude seriously?"

"I know it's stupid, but I figured 'what the hell?" I say and take back the notebook. "Eh, I should probably just forget about it and put it back where I found it."

"No, no, no man, try it out." He says to me.

"What?"

"Yeah, I mean you might as well right?"

"Well, whose name should I write?"

"Oh, do my name!"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, why not? I mean it's not like this thing is for real, so what's the problem?"

"If you say so." I picture Dan's face in my mind and write his name on the first page of the notebook.

"See, told you this thing was fake."

"Give it a bit, it says that it takes 40 seconds to work."

"Oh, must have missed that part."

"You didn't read the rules."

"Shh…" He hushes me. I roll my eyes and we both sit in silence staring at the clock on my computer screen until exactly 40 seconds have passed.

"Whelp, can't say I'm surprised." I turn back to Dan and see him grabbing his right arm. "Come on man that's not funny," I say to him rolling my eyes.

"I don't… feel so good." Dan says weakly before collapsing.

"Dan? Dan are you okay?" I say and stand up. Dan gasps for air and reaches his arm up at me desperately. "Dan! I-I'll call a doctor!" I grab my phone and start dialing. "Just stay with me, man! Don't close your eyes! I promise you're going to be okay!" I scream at him while trying desperately to dial until suddenly I stop as I notice that Dan isn't breathing. "Dan? Dan?!" I lean down and put my ear to his chest and terror fills my entire being when I don't hear anything. No way, t-this can't be real. He was fine just a second ago. He was here, how can he be dead so suddenly. This doesn't make any sense-  
I turn my head slowly to the open notebook on my desk. Th-there's no way. That thing can't have done this, it's impossible. But, it worked just like it said it would, a heart attack in forty seconds. If it worked, that means I did this, this is my fault. Tears start to fill my eyes as I rack my brain. What do I do? How do I explain this? I-I killed him. I can't tell anyone about the notebook, they'd think I was crazy. What am I supposed to do? I jump in shock as I hear maniacal laughter fill the room, I turn around and am filled with sheer terror to the sight that awaits me. A giant rag doll that's tattered and falling apart stands before me laughing in glee. Different colored rags are lazily stitched on its body and the the stitches pull and twist every time it moves. Eventually, it looks down at me with it's cold and lifeless eyes before bending down to my level so it's face to face with me.

"So, you're the one who picked up my Death Note. I was hoping for someone with a little more backbone, but whatever. My name's Ryon, I'm what you humans call a Shinigami. You and I are going to have a lot of fun together. The creature said before forming its mouth into a long and twisted grin.


End file.
